Wednesday, December 9, 2009

US economy

The US economy is out of whack in case you have been under a rock for the last 20 years. Right now we are in recovery but it is a jobless recovery. The people working (not the top income brackets) are struggling to buy most things due to wage reductions and higher costs for things like healthcare, cars, and fuel. We do not produce many products that are affordable anymore. We still design and innovate (the media has that one right) but it is increasingly difficult to sell those innovative products to the US consumer. Henry Ford recognized that a situation like this could be bad for business. All of his employees could afford to buy a bottom end Ford. GM announced that the Volt will retail for $40,000, while at the same time economists are saying that the US worker needs to take a 20% salary reduction. Who will be able to afford the Volt? Think back to the election of Bill Clinton the first time. Ross Perot talked about the economy and how these free trade agreements would be bad for the country. He has been proven to be 100% correct with his prediction. If we hope to have a strong economy we have to create an environment where most things are made here. There needs to be some incentive to keep production here. Whether that is a big tax break or a hefty import fee or even a reduction of wages it needs to be done and it needs to be done fast.